In my Biblical Discipline conferences, I humbly share that prior to having my own children I believed parenting would be easy. It wasn't long into my journey that I discovered raising godly children is anything but easy. And I know that I am not alone. Many of you are overwhelmed. You had great ambition, but somewhere between the piles of ...
Teachable Moments
What Deposits Are You Making?
In my mind, I have an ample amount of time before my children fly my nest to face the world. But the calendar is suggesting otherwise. Bubs started his first year of high school a couple of months ago meaning that I have only 3 years to finish the training that I started 15 years ago. Up to the point I have instilled in him a work ethic ...
Are You Skipping These Learning Opportunities?
Yesterday Little Man set up Monopoly, begging everyone in the family to join him. It is a game that I loved as a child. As a parent, I tolerate it. Crazy how things change like that. But, I knew it was important to my young son. Even though it wasn't always pretty, I was thankful that I grasped the moment. As we played I recognized the ...
When Your Child Refuses to Sit and Learn
For the past few weeks, I have seen several questions concerning children who don't want to sit for learning time. I often hear two sides to this issue. Those who believe that toddlers and preschoolers can't sit. Forcing a young child to sit is actually harmful. And, those who believe children must sit for long periods of learning because ...
When Being Intentional Adds Stress
A few weeks ago a momma in the ABC Jesus Loves Me Facebook group shared a raw post of frustration and exhaustion. She spent all day "Being Intentional" only to be left with a sink full of dirty dishes and a supper table requiring a meal. We've all been there. It is a daily challenge to be intentional with those God has placed in our lives and ...
How to Train a Child
Ask parents for a Bible verse about parenting and many will quote Proverbs 22:6. Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. With focus on the last part of the verse, Proverbs 22:6 brings great comfort to parents raising challenging children. But I wonder if we put so much emphasis on the end that we ...
An Example of a Teachable Moment
A few evenings ago I caught Peanut (5) singing a silly childhood song about trick-or-treating, smelly feet, and underpants. (I'll give you a moment while you sing it too.) While bordering on unappropriateness, it is a song that has been sung by children for many generations around Halloween because of its catchy lyrics and simple sing-song ...
Teachable Moments and God’s Character
To conclude our series on Teachable Moments, I want to explain how the Holy Spirit has taught me to use the characteristics of God to impress upon my children. I love explaining to our kiddos who God is because God doesn't change and what they are learning will stay with them their entire lives. When they make a wrong choice, we talk about ...
Teachable Moments and Bible Stories
I believe there are three avenues in which we can impress God upon our children through teachable moments. Yesterday I shared how the Holy Spirit is helping me use Bible verses. Another way is to use Bible stories. (Read the beginning of the Teachable Moments series.) Think Jonah, Paul, Moses, and Noah. Yes, those Bible ...
Teachable Moments and Bible Verses
Now that you know what teachable moments are, and when, where and why they should occur, I pray that you have begun seeing them pop up in your daily activities and conversations. (Begin with the first post of this series.) In today's post, I am going to share how to utilize the teachable moments when they come up. In my mind, the ...