Limit: three stuffed animals to a bed!
Are you spoiling your “baby”?
A juvenile court judge wrote some time ago that he saw a large number of last-born kids getting in trouble. It’s easy to assume that the parents “spoiled” their “baby.” He says he now realizes that older brothers and sisters also have to share some of the blame. He says that the baby sometimes becomes the family mascot who seems cute—even when they’re bad. When Junior feels like he can’t do anything wrong, we can be headed for trouble. Just because the older kids turned out okay, there’s no guarantee the younger ones will follow suit. So, Mom and Dad, we can’t stop training and discipling our kids until the race is done. And the race isn’t over until godly character is evident that honors God and makes us proud.
What night of the week is your family night?
Modern conveniences like cell phones, computers, and tablets are supposed to give us more leisure time, right? But, in reality, technology simply raises everyone’s expectations for speed and availability. What about family time—at least one night a week that we’re collecting cell phones and tablets and taking time to spend with our families? Let me suggest that we all set a night and time to play board games or Uno or something else that will force us to talk and have fun. If we don’t schedule it, it’s just hit or miss. Agree on a game, share memories, talk about all kinds of things—including your favorite Bible story and why. Make sure, though, that food is a part of it. Dads, you be in charge. You’ll be glad you did.
Husbands will melt with love…
Paul, in the book of Ephesians, encourages wives to submit and show respect to their husbands. The Apostle Peter says a similar thing in 1 Peter. Now, that doesn’t mean that women are less valuable to God. Want your husbands to shower you with love? Respect them. “But, they don’t deserve it,” you say. Find ways. Wives, you don’t realize how incredibly winsome and compelling you can be when—instead of being haughty toward your husband—you shower him with respect and trust. No man is going to say he doesn’t want to be loved, but what he really craves is respect. Ladies, try it; I think you’ll be surprised—and very pleased—with the results.
Bitter at God?
Bitterness. Yes, our kids can be bitter. Why? Maybe divorce has hit our homes, or death, or maybe they’re dealing with a less-than-perfect body that kids tease and torment. A lot of times, it’s middle school when all this anger comes rushing out. How do we help? Sometimes we can’t. The Holy Spirit is responsible. But, we need to be faithful. Let’s help our kids see that true beauty is inside—like the love of a father who has suffered burns on his face. While ugly to others, his face represents unconditional love. It may be time we started leading by example, too. Tell God thank you for those unchangeable qualities that make us special to our Heavenly Father. Perhaps it’ll encourage our kids to look for inner beauty, too.
Mark Twain on raising teens
Mark Twain said, when a child becomes a teenager, you should “put him in a barrel and feed him through” a hole in the lid. When they turn sixteen, Twain said, “Plug the hole!” If you have challenging teenagers, you understand where he’s coming from, but let’s be real—you could get in trouble for that! But, you know what? It’s in a teen’s DNA to be a little oppositional. Why? They’re testing you and their place in this world, and God’s using that to form them into the people He wants them to be. Our job as a parent is to courageously and lovingly hold the line. Be a gutsy, trusting parent who hangs tough even when your son or daughter gets upset. Remember, they’ll only be teens for a short time. They will grow out of it.
What’s your game plan for your kids?
Do you want your child to be wealthy, healthy, happily married, live close to you, and help you in your old age? Well, none of these goals are evil in and of themselves. But, sometimes, the good can elbow out the best. Here’s the better question, though: how do we help our kids have goals for themselves? God created our kids for His purpose, not ours. What if God wants our son or daughter to be a missionary in some third-world nation? Or a teacher in the inner city? Are you going to stand in their way? Bottom line: we need to help our kids walk in the Lord, love God, and listen to His voice. I think it’s time to stop making plans for our kids and simply point them to the truth of Scripture. The rest will fall into place.
Are your kids “those” kids?
It seems like everybody has some. A neighborhood, school, or church where there is a whole family of boys or whatever—just running and screaming and picking on each other. You envy those families who have nice, quiet compliant kids. But, for whatever reason our kids are “busy.” More often than not, our kids are always getting into things and always trying to push our buttons. What do we do? Sometimes, it’s a simple as being firm in our discipline. Other times, it’s redirecting attention to something less frustrating. Other times, we lose control, exposing our worst moments. Have no fear, though. God is working. Be faithful to teach His Word. Pray His Word takes root in their lives.
Kids need to be critical thinkers.
Do you ever wonder why kids ask "why?" Seriously! I know the answer to that, but it’s amazing how many times a three-year-old can ask "why" about the same subject. You know why? It’s because God created them to be a critical thinker. Unfortunately, our schools today aren’t teaching critical thinking skills. Today, we’re talking about training our kids to be apologists, defenders of their faith. It’s critical to teach our kids to identify and evaluate arguments that people make against God’s existence or the truth of Christianity. In order to do that, we’ve got to encourage kids to ask, "Why?" Those "why" questions will require us to be ready to answer them. Are you ready?
Training kids to be apologists
Today is part two of training our kids to be defenders of their faith in an increasingly antagonistic world. Here are a few more ways to train your kids in apologetics (from Natasha Crain).* Talk about the planets and compare them to earth. Talk about how God created the earth for us. Tell your kids “that some people think it happened by ‘chance,’ and how Christians instead believe it’s God’s design.” Then, encourage them to look at God’s fingerprints in creation. What could they look like? Ask, “How could this happen by chance? Can we put a bunch of watch parts together in a bag and hope they will go together perfectly by shaking it?” This supports the argument that God finely tuned His creation. More helps tomorrow. *Based on “14 Ways I Teach Apologetics to My 5-Year-Olds” by Natasha Crain, ChristianMomThoughts.com
Kids need to be defenders.
Today’s culture isn’t a positive place to be if you’re a Christian. Our culture is so messed up we don’t even know the difference between male and female anymore with the transgender issue. The world tells us there are no moral absolutes, God doesn’t exist, and the Bible isn’t truth. Parents, we need to teach our kids to defend their faith: Christian apologetics. Here are a few ways to start with our kids (from Natasha Crain).* Make sure you have daily Bible time. Start by reminding them that “God has revealed Himself to people in TWO ways: through the Bible and through the world around us.” Then, remind them that “without God, there would be nothing.” Then, use the Bible to begin studying books about space. These are three beginning steps. More tomorrow. *From “14 Ways I Teach Apologetics to My 5-Year-Olds” by Natasha Crain, ChristianMomThoughts.com