Faith in Parenting

This is a great verse to share with your kids the next time they express fear of the unknown.  Maybe your son is anxious about his first sleepover, or your daughter is worried about attending a new dance school.  Our kids enter into situations that are “new” to them all the time, but it’s not always comfortable.  Reminding them - and ourselves, for that matter! - that God himself goes ahead of them and will be with them is incredibly reassuring.

So the next time you’re presented with a “what if…” from one of your kids, consider sharing this verse and turning the moment into a quick One-Minute Devotional opportunity!

Don’t you just love kids’ questions? The other day, my 5-year-old asked me if I wished for her and her brother before they were born. And it led to such a neat conversation! I got to explain how much I prayed for each of them before they were born, and how I trusted God to use me to bring into the world the exact children He wanted me to raise. (And look - He did!)

It was also an ideal opportunity for incorporating these two verses, and turning her natural inquiry into a quick one-minute devotion opportunity.

You can do the same thing. The next time your kids spontaneously ask you about the day they were born, share with them how purposefully God created them, knitting each cell together until they grew into the little person they are right at this moment!

Psalm 139: 13-14 -

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Some Thoughts for Moms: Guess what? Today is my son’s 9th birthday! And I can’t help but think of these verses today. Isn’t it just amazing to think that God created our children, knit them together? I’m not too crafty myself, but people who knit tell me it’s an intricate process that requires a lot of patience and thought. What a joy it is to see the intricacies of God’s creation through our children! “I know that full well.”

May you be blessed to see this verse from a new perspective and be encouraged in the Lord through the lives of your children. ~Amen!

The verse Ephesians 4:32, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you, is a great choice for a quick one-minute devotion because it’s so applicable to our daily lives. Once you have this verse in your mind, you’re going to find lots of situations where it just naturally applies, and - ideally - that’s the time to slip in your one-minute devotion. Right there in that teachable moment.

For example, let’s say your kids are arguing. Remind them that God wants us to be kind to another and forgive one another; and then ask them why they think that is. They might say, “Because He wants us to love one another,” or “Because he want us to get along.” That’s certainly true! But it’s also a good time to point out to our kids that forgiving one another is one way we can acknowledge the extent to which God has forgiven us.

Pretty easy, right? Because sharing Christ doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t even have to be well-planned or come from a formal devotional book.  Simply put the message into your own words, and look for an opportunity to share it with your kids this week.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Last week, on our Faith in Parenting Support Call, we got to talking about how to handle outside influences on our children. This week, we’re going to explore how we identify those outside influences. For example, what changes in our kids’ behavior cause us to say, “Wait a minute. This is having a negative impact on you (or your grades, or our family…), and we need to deal with it.”

It sounds simplistic, but sometimes it’s hard to make the distinction between what we need to keep an eye on and what we need to take action about.

To join us, call (218) 486-1300 at 2:00 pm (ET) on Tuesday, March 11, and enter the access code 669379. (For those in other time zones, the call will take place at 1:00 pm CT, 12:00 noon MT, and 11:00 am PT.)

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

* Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
* Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
* Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
* Access Code: 669379

And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,
Jennifer

It’s the first week of the month, so our topic for this week’s Faith in Parenting Support Call is up to you! Bring your questions and any pressing issues you’d like to discuss with the group. The last time we did this, it led to a really interesting discussion about dealing with bullies, and I’m sure this will be another great call.

To participate, simply call in at 2:00 pm (ET) to talk about whatever is on your mind, ask questions, and share concerns related to raising your kids. (For those in other time zones, the call will take place at 1:00 pm CT, 12:00 noon MT, and 11:00 am PT.)

“See you” there!

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

* Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2008
* Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
* Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
* Access Code: 669379

And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer

You know, a lot of the things we need to do to keep our families running smoothly are really quite simple.  Sometimes we just need a quick reminder and some support and encouragement to transform our well-intentioned plans and ideas into reality.

In thinking about this, I’ve decided to create a new weekly “feature” here on the blog - Saturday’s Simple Suggestion.  Every Saturday, I’ll share a different idea related to raising our families.

This week’s suggestion is a simple family devotion idea that one of our church families shared with us on our church-wide retreat a couple of weeks ago.  Simply take one of your favorite passages and read it in two or three different Bible translations.  For example, try reading it in the New International Version, The Message, and the The Living Bible.

In particular, pay attention to how each version teaches you a new aspect of the passage, or expands your understanding of the text in some way.

And if your kids are old enough to read on their own, allow them to participate by reading one of the translations aloud.   Then discuss which version holds the most meaning for you personally, and consider memorizing it together as a family.

What “yardstick” do you use to determine whether a certain video or computer game is appropriate for your kids? That’s our topic for this week’s Faith in Parenting Support Call.

To participate, just dial (218) 486-1300 at 2:00 pm (ET) and enter the access code 669379. The call is free, aside from any long distance charges you may incur.

For those in other time zones, the call will take place at 1:00 pm CT, 12:00 noon MT, and 11:00 am PT.

Hope to “see” you there! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

• Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
• Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
• Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
• Access Code: 669379

Whenever my daughter sees my husband and I hugging, she runs up and presses herself in between us. It’s a great joke to her, and she giggles the entire time she’s working to interrupt us.

While that’s cute, it’s also important for our kids to know that our marriages are priority relationships. Today as we were driving home from preschool, my daughter mentioned that Daddy came by to say hello to her (since he works right upstairs!). And we got to chatting about how “Wasn’t that nice of Daddy? He sure does love you.”

And she said, “Yeah, and he sure does love his WIFE!” It was one of those adorable moments when out of a four-year-old pops this wisdom you didn’t know was there. She gets it!

So here are some tips for how we can all practice the art of making our marriages a visible priority - even in the busy, chaotic midst of raising kids, working, and more:

• Let your kids see that you’re affectionate with one another.
• Get a regular babysitter so that you can have a “date night” together out of the house.
• Ask (older kids) for privacy when needed to work out disagreements, discuss hot topics, etc.
• Demonstrate forgiveness and letting go of old grudges.
• Be kind and considerate of one another.
• Speak kind works about and toward one another.
• Be clear in stating your own needs, and give your partner a chance to meet those needs.
• Create time and space to focus your attention on one another (turn off all the other distractions).

These are just a few tips. What has been most meaningful for you personally? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts!

Feeling irritable? Short-tempered? Restless? Many of us are dealing with a classic case of “cabin fever,” due to multiple days of snow or rain. So how do you deal with it day and and day out without plugging the kids in to the TV, video games, or computers every hour?

That’s our topic for this week’s Faith in Parenting Support Call! Join us from 2:00-2:35 (ET) (that would be 1:00 CT, 12:00 MT, or 11:00 PT).

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

• Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2008
• Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
• Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
• Access Code: 669379

And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer