​​Many of you are closing in on your first month of “back to school” schedule!  Whether its daycare, preschool, public school, private school or homeschool,  the beginning of a new year brings about some concerns about the challenges of raising our kids.  One of the most powerful tools God equips parents with to address these concerns is PRAYER!  I came across an article by Dr. Joshua Straub that discussed ways to pray for your kids while they’re at school each day of the week.  This is a thumbnail sketch of what he shared.

Monday: Pray your child would have a love of learning.  Pray he/she would have wisdom, insight, and understanding.
Tuesday: Pray for God to surround your child with friends, mentors, and loved ones who champion and encourage their worth, strengths, and gifts.
Wednesday: Pray your child will be honest, hard working, patient, faithful, empathetic, and kind.
Thursday: Pray your child has the courage to do the right thing and would walk confidently in God’s love for them.
Friday: Pray your child’s heart would belong completely to God.

I would encourage you to check out the website (https://226parenting.com) and read the entire article, “8 Weekly Prayers to Pray for Your Kids While They’re at School”.  Dr. Straub closes the article with this;  “Dear Lord, I pray for a belly laugh today for my children.  Teach them the value of having fun and laughing hard.  And Lord, do the same for me.”

​-Christie

Over the years I have asked parents (and myself) questions such as: How do you see your child 10 years from now? 15 years? 20? What characteristics do you hope are evident in your child’s life at that future age?
     
Most say (me, too) that they hope to see their child as a faithful follower of Christ, kind, loving, a good person and citizen, successful, happy. It appears that these aspirations for our children are pretty universal among parents.
     
Here’s the BIG question: how do we, as parents, encourage that transformation from that tiny bundle we bring home from the hospital to an adult who walks faithfully with the Lord? We wish it could be a simple 3 step process with a money back guarantee! According to research, it is not so much a process but a parents’ authentic walk with Christ being lived out before their children in the home and in the church! Soooooo where do we start? When do we start? How do we start?
     
Actually, we can begin to pray for our children to come to salvation and to grow in knowledge and love of God even before they are born! Scripture teaches us that He created us and knows us in our mother’s womb so when we pray as parents, He is already intimately acquainted with our child’s ways (Psalm 139). Laying a spiritual foundation can begin early by exposing our children to the Word of God at home and at church from babyhood forward and applying those biblical principles in the normal activities of life (Deuteronomy 6:5-8). If you’re like me that sounds exciting and terrifying at the same time! How can we build on this? We pray and ask God to help us see those opportunities to sow seeds of truth into our children. Good news! God is faithful to do this! As much as we love our children and desire them to walk with Christ, He loves them even more and desires a relationship with them! I confess Rick and I needed help along the way to know how and when and what and sometimes the encouragement just to keep on. I’m so grateful that our church comes alongside parents to provide opportunities to encourage spiritual growth in children of all ages! Stay tuned for info on upcoming opportunities that will help you grow in your own walk and help you build your children’s spiritual foundation (Watch for info on Facebook, SABC website, and next month’s Lighthouse!).

-Christie