Parenting

Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy?

Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children!

Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.

Psalm 127:3-5 (MSG) 

***

STUDY MATERIALS PURPOSE

The purpose of these study materials is to help, strengthen and educate the Persecuted Church around the world.

People have contacted us from very remote and persecuted areas of the world. These resources are not available to them and/or if they are seen with them they can be persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Some people can only look at these resources for a brief moment on their cell phones. This library is dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ and to those with fierce determination are following Him.

The books, media and information on this website are a library service and for educational purposes only. This is a lending library for the persecuted church around the world. Please look inside the back of each book or look up the authors name on the internet to obtain more information and more resources from these great ministries. Also, please financially support their ministries as they bring the good news of Jesus Christ to billions of people around the world.

***

The Privilege of Parenting - Deborah Butler

Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  
(Ps. 127:3)

Parents are privileged to be the vessels in each family through whom God desires to promote His eternal purpose. Parents are responsible to be fruitful and multiply, and to aid in the production of Godly character and maturity in their children. Parents are also responsible to help bring forth the ministry potential God has placed in each child.

It is important that you don't just put all of your children in one bag and think they're all alike, because they're not. They are individuals. They all have their own call from God. When we listen to our children as parents, they tell us what's in their heart and we have to be able to develop it.

Don't Squash The Gift Within
One of the things my youngest child shared was that she believed she was going to eventually be a lawyer. When you have that kind of call on your life, there are certain things you do. Lawyers are inquisitive; they ask questions about everything.

My two other kids had a problem dealing with that. I had to explain to them that I was not going to squash the ministry or calling that she had in her life. We (our family) had to all learn how to deal with it, because if you squash it, that child would have more problems developing that gift at a later time.

As parents, we are not to squash our children's dreams just because we don't understand them. Instead, we must help our children by working with them and developing the gift in them.

It is likely that many of their desires will change. Then it is up to parents to recognize the change and to change with them. We should find out as much as we can about what they're interested in and then expose them to that field. We should help them understand clearly what they are called to do.

Remember that the job of parents is to develop God's eternal purpose in our children. One of the ways that is done is by developing godly character and exposing them to areas of their interests.

Study Reference: Jeremiah 29:11

Successful Parenting in a Blended Family - Jimmy Evans

Fifty percent of all families are blended families. These kinds of family structures—where one or both spouses bring children from a previous marriage or relationship—can be challenging. Blended families have a higher divorce rate because of particular dynamics present at the first day of the new marriage.

In my counseling, I’ve seen one particular dynamic lead to a variety of problems: non-biological parenting. This is the relationship between a step-parent and stepchildren.

Biological parents often enter a new marriage with a protective instinct. They may come into the new relationship with emotional damage from their past, and that results in a lack of trust.

They may not trust their new spouse with decisions related to stepchildren.

They may not view the new spouse as an equal when it comes to parenting.

They may think, “They don’t love them like I love them.”

These attitudes are asking for trouble. In these situations, I’ve heard one spouse say something like this: “You may not be my spouse the rest of my life, but my children are going to be my children the rest of my life. And if it comes down to a choice, I choose my children.”

That’s a very dangerous mistake to make in a relationship.

In Genesis 2:24-25, God reveals His laws for marriage. One of these is the law of possession. He says “the two shall become one.” Not one-point-three or one-point eight, but ONE. The only way two things can become one is if both husband and wife surrender everything to the relationship.

That means finances, assets, decision-making, and children. Withholding any one of those things—refusing to give it up—becomes an idol. It threatens the marriage relationship.

Because marriage is trust. When you marry somebody, it’s imperative that they become co-owners of those children along with you. If you don’t trust a person with your children, then you shouldn’t marry them.

I do understand that, in the beginning of a relationship, non-biological parents make not have the natural love a biological parent has for his or her child. However, they can love a child by choice. This is the same holy agape love God has for us.

Love by choice is the greatest level of love. It means doing what Jesus would do regardless of emotion or circumstances.

I’m not saying that a non-biological parent’s love is better than biological love. Nor am I saying that a non-biological parent should replace the biological parent. But both parents do have to be equal.

While it might be wise at the beginning of a new relationship for the biological parent to enforce discipline—at least until the non-biological parents gains authority— the non-biological parent should still have full rights to that child.

Otherwise, these complicated relationships can drive a wedge between a husband and wife.

Blended families, parent your children together. Follow God’s Law of Possession. Make sure the children see you trusting each other and operating as a team.

Parenting with Balance - Ken Blount

Being a parent today can feel somewhat overwhelming. It’s a constant balancing act. You don’t want to be the heavy, but at the same time you don’t want to be a big softy.

Think of a teeter-totter. Has your child ever been playing with another child on a teeter-totter when one of them sees something else they want to try and they jump off only to send the other child plummeting toward the earth? The teeter-totter becomes unbalanced. And the child who was left behind goes crashing to the ground, where he or she will stay until another child jumps on and balances things out.

Parenting is a lot like a teeter-totter. You need both sides to balance each other out so you can enjoy the ride. You and your child are responsible to keep the teeter-totter totting away efficiently. When your child is young, you do the majority of the totting and as your child grows older they take on more totting responsibilities until they find someone new (their husband or wife) to help them start their own little teeter-totter life with.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Notice that the verse says we are to train our children, not raise our children. There is a big difference between raising and training. Raising is providing for… providing food, providing shelter, providing sustenance. In raising, you are maintaining life.

But training means causing to change. In fact, the word training in the Hebrew means: To twist into greatness.

That word twisting implies that the training process is going to go against your child’s nature. But that’s really the point because your child’s nature is not a good one. Your child is born into this world with a nature that is bent towards sin. So we want to train them and help twist that nature out of them.

Your children have a will, and that will wants to do what it wants to do. So God has called godly parents to twist it out of them and to twist them into greatness.

It’s going to take some focus and some hard work. It’s going to take some firm consistency. Not harsh, but firm. But over time, if we partner with God and with the Holy Spirit to train our children according to the Word of God, we are promised by God that they will not depart from it when they reach maturity.

So, let's talk about parenting with balance. How do we find the perfect balance when it comes to training children? What do we say “yes” to and what do we say “no” to? How do we love our kids without letting them run our lives? How do we discipline them without pushing them away?

In order to answer some of these questions, we need to ask some questions. Hopefully these questions will help you to determine what kind of parent you tend to be so you can more effectively manage your child’s life, as well as your own.

There are two different types of parents we are going to look at today: 1) Parents who let their kids run over them, and 2) Parents who run over their kids. Neither one of these parenting styles are balanced.

Question #1: Do you own ALL of your kids' problems?

Now, as parents, some of your kids' problems are your problems, but not all of them.

How many times has your child come up to you to tell you that he or she was bored? Now how many times have you stopped what you were doing to solve the boredom problem?

A lot of parents just drop everything they are doing to try to figure out how to solve their child’s boredom issue. But here’s the problem, you’re taking on a problem that is not yours and you're not doing your kid a favor by problem solving all of their little problems.

Your children are going to face things in life. Jesus said in John 16:33, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

If you protect a child from the consequences of actions, their actions are likely to keep getting worse and worse, until they hit a consequence that you can’t protect them from. It’s better for a child to face authentic consequences for minor problems, so they will develop their own self-discipline.

Hopefully, they will become stronger and more responsible because you are not taking responsibility for all the issues they face.

Let your kids take on some of the little problems they are facing in life. Let them find ways to solve those problems themselves. If they are bored, tell them to find something to do. Go outside and play. Use your imagination—YOU think of something to do.

What about homework? How many times has your child waited until the last minute to finish a big assignment, and you end up doing it for him? Next time, don’t cancel your date night with your spouse to finish your child’s school project. Let them get out of the problem they got themself into.

They may not like you in the moment, but in the long run, you are training them to be problem-solvers—a skill they will need all the days of their life.

Question #2: Are you in constant contact with other authority figures in your child’s life?

One of the main goals in parenting is preparing kids to be able to leave you one day. We want to train our kids properly so they can grow into independent adults who can direct their own affairs.

If you’re emailing or calling school officials on a regular basis to resolve your child’s conflicts, then you are over-managing. When your child gets a bad grade and deserves it, don’t call up Mrs. Rierson and make excuses for him or her, and try to get the grade changed.

If your son or daughter gets in trouble for talking too much during computer class, don’t get offended at the teacher and call and complain about him to the principle. Or, if your son gets benched at his game, don’t go down on the field and make a scene.

Of course there will be times when you have to protect your child from certain teachers and coaches, and when that needs to be done, do it. But pick your battles.

If you do have to discuss something with a teacher or another authority figure in your kid’s life, then do it privately. Don’t let your child know about it.

Question #3: Do you spend all of your free time driving from one practice to another?

Every time your child sparks a new interest in something, do you sign them up? Ballet, soccer, hip-hop dance classes, baseball, boy scouts, acting classes... the list goes on and on.

Organized activities and sports are beneficial for kids for a number of reasons. They provide opportunities for play and exercise. They teach sportsmanship, self-discipline, conflict resolution and, most of all, they’re fun!

BUT, the key is keeping them that way, and making sure that you and your kids aren’t becoming overwhelmed.

You and your spouse need to agree on some ground rules before you sign up your kids for too much. For instance, plan to play one sport per season, or limit activities to two afternoons or evenings during the school week. Before you say yes, make sure you, your spouse, and your child know how much time is required for an activity.

Make sure you're not going to be missing church. It’s important for kids to learn at a young age that going to church is something that shouldn’t be compromised. Skipping church for your children’s extracurricular activities sends a message that those activities are more important than God. Let your children be involved, not enthralled, with after school activities.

Don’t let your kids' busy lifestyles become your busy lifestyle. Talk regularly with your spouse about your child’s schedule, and don’t bite off more than anyone can chew.

Now, if you answered no to all of those questions you might think you’re sitting pretty. But we’re not done. We have a few more questions to ask you to help you find out if you’re like the other parent we mentioned—the parent who runs over their kids.

Question #4: Do you only support your ideas?

For instance, a child who hates going to piano lessons asks his parents if he can learn how to play the drums instead. His parents cringe at the thought of having a drum set in their house, and they tell him that they don’t think it’s a good idea.

When a child becomes interested in something new, don’t just write it off because you aren’t interested.

When our son was little, he really got into football. He wanted to be in the NFL. Statistically, of 100,000 high school seniors who play football every year, only 215 will ever make an NFL roster. That is 0.2%! But we didn’t discourage him.

In fact, every night when I got home from work, I would go out in the back and throw passes to him, and he got very good. Our son is not in the NFL today, but that’s not the point. He got excited about something, so we got excited about it with him.

We got to spend time together, I got to teach him a lot about football, and to this day, football is a hobby we share together. So when your child becomes interested in something, even if you aren’t or it seems silly to you, get interested in it with them and support them.

Question #5: Do you say “because I said so” like it’s going out of style?

Your five-year old says they are full and can’t eat anymore. When you tell them to eat three more bites, they ask why, and you say, “Because I said so.”

Your seven-year old wants to go outside after dinner and play a little longer, and you say no. He asks why, and you say, "Because I said so,” like he pulled the little pull string on your back that controls what you say.

Try explaining yourself to your kids. Think about why you are saying no. Do you really have a good reason? If you do, I’m sure they will understand.

Think about this: If you asked your boss for a raise, he said no, and then you asked for an explanation, and he answered, “Because I said so,” wouldn’t that tick you off a little bit? When we ask questions, we want explanations. Show your children the same respect.

Question #6: Do your kids have to sneak behind your back to have fun?

Maybe they are doing this already, and you don’t know it. I heard about an eight-year old who was not allowed to eat candy or sweets. She wasn’t allergic. Her mother just worried that she would become overweight. Whenever this little girl was away from home, she would devour all the candy she could get her hands on.

Kids have one goal and it’s this: To have fun! It’s important as a parent to make sure that your kids can have fun in your presence. If they feel like when you are around they can’t enjoy themselves, then they will start to sneak around behind your back to get to the source of their fun. And they usually go a overboard when they get a hold of something that they are “not allowed” to have.

If you have rules about what your kids eat, I am not saying to throw those out the window so you’re kids will love you more. I am saying to check out other options. 

It may not be candy in your child’s life. Whatever it is, just make sure your kids know that they can have fun when you are around. Let them have their friends over to spend the night. Surprise them and take them out of school one day to go see a movie. Let them bake cookies, even if makes a mess in the kitchen. Have fun with your kids!

I love this quote:

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood. – Fred Rogers

If you want your kids to to learn from you, you have to have fun with them.

Are you sitting on the teeter totter by yourself? Has your easy-going or hard-nosed parenting style got you stuck on the ground? Start putting some boundaries in place to balance things out. Don’t always let your kids run over you and don’t always run over your kids.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord [as His representatives], for this is just and right. Honor (esteem and value as precious) your father and your mother. This is the first commandment with a promise. (Eph. 6:1-2)
Do your kids esteem and value you? 

Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4)
Do your kids resent you?

Let God speak to you and show you areas that you need to tighten up or loosen up with your kids.

https://kenblountministries.com

 We are serious about your family. You are a strong Parent!

Contacts us, we want to pray for you and your family.  God has a great things ahead for you and your family.