This is the first post in a series I’m starting called “Letters For Christian Armour”. Read what this is about here.
Dear Children,
One of the most common misconceptions you’ll run into in life is that Christianity is mostly (if not entirely) about doing or being good. Non-believers often minimize the difference between Christians and those who do good things. It is really important that you understand why this is a fundamental misunderstanding of our faith.Continue reading
In my post “Should You Raise Your Kids in a Christian Bubble,” I talked about the difference between wearing a Christian “hat” in life and wearing Christian “armour”. In this analogy, a Christian “hat” is when Christianity is just a belief system attached to you but not at the core of your identity. The Bible calls us, however, to find our entire identity in Christ and to protect our faith as strongly as a soldier preparing for war with full armour (Ephesians 6:10-17):Continue reading
There is something about Friday that makes it the worst day of the week for me. It should be the best day – our family’s weekend is Friday and Saturday due to my husband’s work schedule, so I should be celebrating the first day of weekly rest and relaxation.
Oh wait, that’s the problem. I’ve somehow never let go of the notion that the weekend means rest and relaxation. I have three kids ages three and under. They aren’t more independent, better behaved, less likely to fight or more angelic on Fridays and Saturdays. I have the added help of my husband on those days, and that’s great, but it isn’t as great as weekends filled with the freedom to rejuvenate. So every Friday I wake up thinking how happy I am that it’s the “weekend” and within 10 minutes I am excessively disappointed that the day ahead looks like as much work as every other day.Continue reading
If you read my “About Me” page, you’ll see that my mission as a mom is to raise my kids in a home where faith means more than going to church on Sunday. Indeed, that is the whole purpose of this blog – to help inspire others to think deeply about what that means for their own families and to pursue the same mission.
I proactively seek to apply faith every single day for my kids, to surround their hearts and minds with God. But in doing so, I sometimes have wondered: Am I building a Christian bubble around my kids? And if so, is that good or bad?Continue reading
My son Nathan wasn’t feeling well recently so we all prayed together for him to feel better. The next night at prayer time, Kenna pointed out that we prayed for him already but he wasn’t feeling better. She had a look of simultaneous confusion and disappointment on her face. In a total of about 3 seconds I had the thought that this is the beginning of a lifetime of seeking to understand why God does or does not answer certain prayers AND replied, “We’ll keep praying and trust God that Nathan will feel better.”
I felt a giant theological error well up in my throat. How often we casually imply or even consciously think that if we just “trust God” for a specific prayer outcome, He will answer the way we want! Continue reading
I have been a compulsive nail biter since I was 3 years old. I can remember family members offering a vast array of rewards for growing my nails ever since I was very small. As an adult, there have been times I was able to stop for weeks or even a few months at a time. But I always started again. Every January 1st starts with a new resolution to stop, but I have never been successful.
I had a revelation about my inability to stop biting my nails recently. Biting my nails is only an outward symptom of an underlying, persistent problem in my life. I bite my nails when I’m anxious – and I’ve been an anxious person my whole life. Continue reading
A reader of this blog posed this question on the Facebook page, because her boys – ages 10, 12 and 15 – are uninterested in church. It’s a very important question that I wanted to address with this post.
At the risk of trivializing the question itself, I’m going to offer a brief rationale for my own answer and then provide an alternative question which I think is more at the heart of the issue.Continue reading
[NOTE: This post is 4 years old but continues to receive a large number of visitors from Google searches on teaching kids about faith. A lot has happened here on the blog since I wrote this–including having the opportunity to write a book that was released in March 2016 by Harvest House Publishers: Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side: 40 Conversations to Help Them Build a Lasting Faith! If you’re here because you’re looking for resources to help you effectively raise your kids to follow Jesus in the midst of this secular world, please take a moment to check it out!]
Yesterday, my 3-year-old daughter asked about the word “faith” after hearing it in the devotional book she received for Christmas. I told her that faith means we believe in God even though we can’t see Him, hear Him or touch Him. Hearing myself say that out loud, I realized for the first time just how difficult the concept of faith can be. My definition was true in a simple sense, but as my kids grow I want them to understand the greater richness of the word as used in the Bible.
This inspired me to study the different instances of the word translated as “faith” in the New Testament. Based on my (digital) study Bible, there are 245 such instances. I read each of the passages and categorized them into 10 key insights on faith that I hope to teach my children as they grow.Continue reading
What if I told you I have evidence . . . cold hard data . . . that there is one New Year’s resolution that would likely impact the spiritual life of you AND your children more than any other?
Because I do.
Over the last several years, the Center for Bible Engagement (CBE) has surveyed 40,000 Americans ranging in age from eight to 80+ on their various spiritual activities and the corresponding impact on their lives. They have consistently found that reading the Bible is the number one driver of spiritual change. Continue reading
Definition of “spoiled child” from Wikipedia: A spoiled child is a child that exhibits behavioral problems from overindulgence by his or her parents.
If I were to identify one thing that I am obsessively concerned about instilling in my children, it’s a grateful heart. This manifests itself in constant conversations with my 3-year-olds about thanking God daily, not being wasteful, remembering who gave them things, and saying thank you for absolutely everything. I hugely fear raising a spoiled child who lacks a profound sense of gratitude. The other day, however, made me wonder if my daughter was becoming one such child. Continue reading
