Parenting With Purpose!

Hi parents!

This past Sunday, I shared a message called 'Parenting With Purpose'. You can download it here (although unfortunately, we had an issue with the recording and the first 6 minutes is rather spotty).

 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 challenges us, as parents, to ensure that our faith is personal and meaningful.

"Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God! So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Memorize his laws...Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them.  Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates."

The passage also offers us some practical tips on how we can take advantage of our everyday family routines as times where we can spiritually invest in our kids.

"Tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning."

In light of my talk, I just wanted to post a few questions to challenge you and get you thinking about what you can change/add to ensure that you are fostering the faith of your kids when you're together as a family. If you have found that one of these things has been helpful in your own life or is something you have started to incorporate into your family time, please let me know!


1. When you think about your child's future, what is the thing you want the most for him/her?

When Moses was leading the people of Israel into a land full of prosperity, his greatest concern was that they would love and follow God and raise their kids to do the same.

"It will be heartbreaking if your children enjoy the benefits and the prosperity of a better lifestyle, live in a land flowing with milk and honey, and become experientially rich, but never really know God". -Reggie Joiner, Think Orange

Our world sees success as being rich and famous, having a home, a family, friends, a fulfilling career, and being a benefit to our society. These are all good things, but if those are the only dreams we have for our kids, then we're forgetting the only thing that ultimately matters: That our kids would grow to know, love and follow God.

"What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" -Jesus in Mark 8:36-37

2. What are my kids learning from me?

Moses challenged the people of Israel to be people who loved and followed God with their entire being ("with all your heart, soul, and strength"). Is our faith deep and meaningful? Does it affect the way we live our lives, the things we say and do? Do our kids see us living out what we claim to believe? Is our relationship with God evident in our attitude, in how we treat our spouses, in how we treat others, in how we work, in how we spend our money, in our commitment to church community? Are our homes places where our kids are learning about God an experiencing his love? Do we show our kids what it's like to really pursue God?

3. How can I take advantage of mealtimes or times we sit together at home? (Deut 6:7).

Many families live in the same home, but are often pursuing their own interests-- seldom sitting and talking together. In this verse, Moses encourages us to take advantage of times when we sit together at home to help foster the faith of our kids. Do you do family devotions? Do you pray together? Do you talk about God and what it means to follow him? Do you relate the things you and your kids are going through to what the Bible has to say? Think of a way you can take advantage of your home time to help your kids develop a better relationship with you and the God who loves them.

4. How can I take advantage of the time we spend travelling? (Deut 6:7).

Even with our busy schedules, we often have time when we have a "captive audience", when we are driving as a family to school, church, daycare, sports practice, or even the grocery store. Think of ways that you can utilize that time to invest in your kids spiritually. Can you use some of that time to pray for and with your kids? Can you use some of that time to sing worship songs together? Can you use that time to talk to your kids about difficulty and stressful situations they're going through, and encouraging them?

5. How can I take advantage of bedtime? (Deut 6:7)

This is a pretty hectic time for parents that sometimes involves a lot of fighting, screaming and unpleasantness. It's definitely easier to simply SEND your kids to bed than to BRING them to bed. While it involves some self-sacrifice, this is an ideal time to enter your child's personal space to help foster their faith. Can you commit to praying for and with your kids before they go to sleep? Can you commit to reading a Bible story or share a family devotional time before they go to bed? Make it a part of your routine!

6. How can I take advantage of our time in the morning? (Deut 6:7)

Families seldom have much time to do anything spiritually significant in the morning between getting breakfast, bathing and preparing for school or work, but this is the perfect time for parents to act in the role of a coach. What can you say or do in the morning that would help give your kids spiritual fuel for the rest of the day? What is the spiritual equivalent of a granola bar? Just a few encouraging words or a quick meaningful prayer can do a lot to start your child's day on the right foot.