These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as [b]frontals [c]on your forehead.9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
This is what Solomon refers to as raising a child in the way he should go. Friday night I spoke with a Mom who told me her three children all now in their late teens or early twenties are in church and serving God. She knows so many others whose children are not. One Sunday night at dinner she asked them why this was. Their answer, because loving and serving God was real in our house. You and Dad would talk about what the Bible had to say as you made decisions. You read the Bible with us and talked about it almost every week. But, mostly you guys talked about it all the time it was real. That was not true at our friends houses even though they went to church. It was not something they lived everyday.
Keeping your kids walking in the Faith means you MUST make it real in your own lives!
Ultimately this is about being authentic in your own lives.Authenticity is all about aligning your beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions. Living life based solely on what you believe. This is not to say you can not change your mind about what you think and believe. It does mean it is one of the things you talk about doing.
Teaching authentic living requires three things:
- Talking about what you believe and think
- Explaining to your nd believe what you do
- Living authentically yourself.
A life lived by believing in God is not enough. Taking your children to church I'd not enogh. Having your teen be a youth group leader is not enough. The old poem is true "Children Learn What They Live". It is your authentic living of your faith which will keep your kids in church!
Believe in Parenting
Believe in Parenting