Parenting in Christ through Generations

Today we had the pleasure of listening to Jeannie Thrailkill and her two daughters, Brooke Moore and Caroline Brower, speak to us on the importance of raising our children in Christ.  They opened up their lives and shared intimate stories with us that touched our hearts and made us reflect on our own lives.  Here are some of the notes from their words of wisdom:

Parenting is hard work, but we must build a foundation in Christ so that our children grow up knowing the love of Jesus and resting in his grace and mercy always.  We should instil some foundational verses to help them know that God is our heavenly Father, such as:
- Be still and know that I am God
- He will be a Father to the Fatherless
- Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

Remember these truths and challenge yourself to understand them:
- God is good ALL the time
- Call on Jesus always.  In good and bad.
- Ask God what is blocking your relationship with Him and then have the courage to correct it.
- Choose to be obedient to the Word.
- Be aware that the Enemy wants to destroy and tear your family apart.
- Do not let fear overtake you, but trust Christ to see you through.

Provide Christ DAILY for your children.  Pour His Word and His compassion and His heart into them daily... not just once a week at church.  When you build a foundation in Christ in your children, and if they know Him, He will always be with them.  Even if they ignore Him for a period, He will reach out to them and call them back to Him.

Although we can't force our children to accept Jesus into their hearts, we can and need to introduce Him to them.  We don't have to wait till they are a certain age to start.  Here are some ideas of how to introduce Jesus to your children:
- Show them who Christ is by YOUR example.  Your actions will teach them who Jesus is.
- Teach them forgiveness.  Not just "I'm sorry", but also how to forgive, as Christ forgives us.
- Teach Bible stories.
- Listen to Christian radio in the car.  Teach Bible and Christian songs.
- Be active in church.  Remember it is OUR responsibility to teach Christ at home, but it must be reinforced by church.
- Pray.  Pray with them, pray for them.
- Learn and teach scripture.

It is important that we remember (even though it's hard to come to terms with this) that our children do not belong to us.  They belong to God.  They are the children of God and we are "babysitting" them.  God has trusted us with these special little souls, and He gave us His instruction manuel... The Bible.

There is nothing more powerful then the prayer of a mother.  Be a praying mother and pray for your babies... the good, the insignificant and the bad.

* I came along this post from another blog I read and thought it complemented what we were talking about.  You can read it HERE.