Parenting is like a front row seat to your own real life drama. As I watch my son and daughter interact with each other, experiencing life day in and day out, various scenes unfold right before my eyes. And these scenarios provide an excellent training ground for the formation of character, both theirs and mine. I use these encounters to guide them towards right living now so they won't have bigger problems later. Because certain "seeds", if left unchecked, can develop into plants that are potentially dangerous. For example, when my six-year-old daughter becomes enraged with her brother for something he did and refuses to forgive him. I don't want that to become a habit she models 20 years from now as a wife. Or when my son ... Read More...
3 Ways To Intentionally Disciple Your Children
We are currently studying American History in our homeschool, and recently finished a unit on the Puritans (or Pilgrims). It was inspiring to learn about how their faith gave them the vision and courage to make that journey to America and then continue to persevere in the new world despite suffering many hardships. During one of our lessons my nine-year-old piped up, "It's like God was their life theme". Yes, it was pretty much exactly like that. For the Puritans, there really was no separation between the spiritual and the secular. They taught their children how to read for the express purpose of reading and understanding the Bible. Their schools included religious teaching in everything from the alphabet to arithmetic. The intent ... Read More...
Stop Relying on Church For Your Kids’ Spiritual Training
As Christian parents, I'm afraid we have been slowly outsourcing our roles as our children's primary influence. We now delegate them to the schools, the child psychologists, and yes, even to the church. For all the hours spent in Sunday school and youth groups growing up, how much understanding of the Christian faith do kids really have by the time they reach their late teens? A 2006 study by The Barna Group revealed troubling statistics that 70-75% of Christian youth leave the Church after high school. That translates to roughly 6 out of 10 twenty-somethings that have failed to translate high levels of church involvement into active spirituality during their early adulthood. Being connected to a local body of believers is ... Read More...
5 Ways to Fulfill the Great Commission as a Mom
As moms, we often forget that fulfilling the Great Commission is not merely about going off to foreign lands to reach other people groups for Christ. If we are being faithful- right where God has placed us- to share His Word with those in our particular circle of influence, then we are pleasing God and already fulfilling the Great Commission! The Great Commission itself is simply about proclaiming God's truth to the people around us. It's about serving them in His name, discipling them along the way. As such, it is just as possible for a stay-at-home mom to be a Great Commission worker as it is for the missionary in the jungles of Africa. There is a difference, however, between knowing this to be true and knowing how to live it out in a ... Read More...
How To Raise Kids Who Won’t Walk Away From Church
*Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. That means if you choose to make a purchase, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission that helps support this ministry. Hardly a day goes by in which we are not reminded by some major news source that "atheist" and unaffiliated" religious categories are growing among Millennials. For those of us trying to raise children who walk in the truth, the odds aren't in our favor. According to Barna Group, 70% of kids raised in Christian homes will walk away from the church after high school. So many of our children these days end up becoming like that third seed in Matthew 13, who fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. So what's a parent ... Read More...